Mizuho Academy
by Wolf Maiden Laline
Summary: In the prestigious Mizuho Academy, tensions rise between the three races of humans, half-elves, and elves as Cruxis, a gang ruled by the cruel Mithos Yggdrasill, controls the school and its inhabitants. But who are the students rising against them?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Recca Hanabishi walked through the halls of Mizuho High Academy against the massive crowds of students on the first day back on the school grounds. Everyone was walking from the opening ceremony and they were on their way to the courtyard to go and find out which dorm hall and room number they were in. Recca already knew his dorm number, though, because he had skipped the opening ceremony and wandered aimlessly around the school halls. He skipped the ceremony because he already heard the same speech twice, so he figured that he wouldn't need to hear it a third time. But just in case he was caught, he had been picking up litter and throwing it trash bins so that the teachers wouldn't complain about him ditching the ceremony.

As he thought about it, he realized that he had done a good deed that day. That, in his mind, made it okay to cause Cruxis some trouble later on, especially to their leader, Mithos Yggdrasill, whom Recca considered his enemy.

During his freshman year, he had heard about the death of Martel, the older sister of Yggdrasill, in which she was killed in a drive-by shooting by an unknown gang. This happened before she and Mithos were going to enter school and when it did happen, it devastated him. As soon as he did enter Mizuho High Academy, however, he created Cruxis, a gang of half-elves and one human, and unto this day has ruled and terrorized both humans, elves, and any opposition within the school.

Recca was quite bothered with this, though. "Why would you become what took the life of someone dear to you?" he often thought, this fact making no sense to him at all. It also bothered him because that Mithos had assumed the killer to be human or elf, because of all the bad rumors about half-elf mistreatment by both races. However, Recca knew that such assumptions would later leave Mithos in a rut he could not get out of.

However, Martel's death and Mithos' actions weren't the reason why Recca hated Mithos. It was their first encounter that set his hatred for Mithos in place, although why the hatred was caused was never clear. On their first day upon entering the school grounds, both freshmen had engaged in a showdown…yet it was the most peaceful one. The two boys came face-to-face at the entrance of the school and immediately caught sight of one another, staring each other down and emitting vibes of hatred towards each other. Mithos and Recca didn't stop glaring daggers at each other for a while until Kratos urged Yggdrasill to move along and find some seats for the opening ceremony. Reluctantly, both students stopped glaring and parted their separate ways, causing the immobile crowds of intimidated students that were watching the spectacle with apprehension to move again.

That day started a rivalry between this human and half-elf that lasted for two school years and continues today. These encounters out of the classroom were not violent, except for the constant beat down of Cruxis members by Recca, and were mostly stare downs with clever, bitter insults being exchanged between these two. No one ever got between these two, for fear of injury from Cruxis or Recca himself. Either way, the aura within the close radius that these two students emitted was intense and suffocating, causing every other student to stop in fear or curiosity.

In a classroom environment, it was a different story. Mithos and Recca would both try to outdo one another in grades. Everyone in the class wouldn't even try to outdo them (except for Kratos, but he didn't need to try to). These situations, however, were the only times one could see Recca actually working hard.

One class, though, is where these two rivals could physically hurt each other and not get in trouble: Sword Fencing Class. Almost always during fifth period, the two would choose each other as sparring partners, just for the sole purpose of beating the crap of out of one another. Each time they fought was an epic battle that would be left unfinished, but only because the class period bell rang, signaling for the students to move on to the next class. At this point, Professor Auron would interfere at last and stop them so they would go to their next class. The other students wondered why Professor Auron never tried to stop them while they were trying to kill each other, in which he replied that they were the most dedicated students to swordsmanship he has ever seen. He said that their movements were swift and strong, each slash was perfectly planned, and all of their strength was mustered in each blow. He also knew that the two wouldn't try to actually kill each other because the two had no intention of death for one another, just pure hatred. Their fights, even though stopped for the moment, always continued the next class. But for how long would these fights ensue was what everyone wondered.

Recca suddenly stopped, feeling the familiar waves of hatred he'd always feel when he sensed Yggdrasill was near. Sure enough, his archrival was in front of him; however, Yggdrasill did not seem to sense Recca's presence. Instead, his focus was on a small, petite girl with a round face, a button nose, long, trailing black hair, and hazel, wide almond-shaped eyes covered by half-crescent glasses. The scene that Recca saw between the two was that Yggdrasill was bullying the girl, in which his face was contorted with rage and malice, and it seemed that it was up to Recca to save her. However, it didn't look like she needed to be saved. In fact, she looked like she was defending herself pretty well.

"Humph…why do you stand your ground, you inferior being?!" Yggdrasill spat, trying his hardest to intimidate her. It didn't seem to faze her, though, because she was smiling as if he just gave her a compliment. At least, it seemed like it didn't because Recca could see her shaking a bit from the possible stress she was having because of this confrontation. The girl was still silent, however, and looked as though she was pondering about how to smartly retort back.

"Well, I suppose…" she began slowly, choosing her words wisely, "that I wouldn't want to be seen as a spineless person. Wouldn't you agree that no one would?"

Yggdrasill clenched his fists; his face began contorting with rage. He soon, however, regained his calmness, smirking at the small female. In a fierce tone he said, "Spunky wench, aren't you? You'll lose that spunk after…this."

During that stupid dramatic pause, he had snapped his fingers and several Cruxis half-elves stepped out of the crowd. They surrounded her and all sneered at her maliciously. The girl, though, continued smiling pleasantly and this unnerved Yggdrasill greatly.

"What's so damn funny?!" he shouted angrily at her, practically spitting in her face.

"Nothing at all!" she exclaimed merrily, flashing a radiant smile to her aggressors as to throw them off guard, "By the way…your hair looks as though it is getting in the way. Do you want me to put it up?"

If that smile of hers didn't hinder them, then that last inquiry probably did. In fact, it probably threw everyone off, including Yggdrasill. The face he was wearing was priceless; his mouth was gaping widely in disbelief and his eyes were as wide as teacup saucers. It took him several minutes to register what was happening and regain himself, but he couldn't find any words to say back to the peculiar female. The girl, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do.

"Well, I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said while taking a scrunchie from her bag and walked over to Yggdrasill. She stood behind him and carefully pulled his blonde hair back, tying all of it with the scrunchie when she was finished. Yggdrasill did not protest her actions at all. It seemed, for the most part, that he was either shocked or intensely repulsed by the whole ordeal. In Recca's opinion, Mithos probably enjoyed that. Either way, everyone within the perimeter appeared to be stunned by the girl's abnormal behavior. From what Recca could tell, however, was that this girl was obviously new to Mizuho Academy.

The lively female nodded approvingly of the work she had just performed. She told Yggdrasill, "There! Better, right? Don't worry, I don't need that back. Anyways, it looks good on you. You should wear it like that more often!"

She glanced to her right at the clock above the hideous light blue lockers and her face fell. She suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my! Is that the time already? I must find my guide! Ah, it was a pleasure, bye!"

She took off down the hall, waving her hand to exhibit her farewell. Everybody, still paused in awe, stared down the hall where she had taken her exit.

_"What a peculiar girl…"_ Recca thought, _"I wonder if there are more people like her this year. It would be…quite interesting if so…"_

Meanwhile, the crowd that was watching the spectacle began to move, but Yggdrasill stood his place. The shock probably was still with him, but because of the state he was in, Recca was tempted to bring him from this blissful moment. Recca stealthily crept up behind Mithos and whispered very close to his ear, "Nice scrunchie."

Yggdrasill jumped in alarm, whipping around to see who had startled him. As soon as he realized it was Recca, however, he immediately retorted, "Shut up, you dog!"

Suddenly, both rivals watched a classroom door swing open and saw Kratos Aurion, one of the only humans Mithos trusted, came out. For that moment, the two's attentions were off each other as Kratos walked toward them. But as soon as he spotted his leader's hair, he paused for a moment before inquiring, "Should I…?"

"No!" Yggdrasill snapped, beckoning Kratos with his hand to follow him, "Come, we have many things to attend to!"

Kratos silently obeyed his leader's orders and followed right behind him. As Kratos strides past Recca, the two make eye contact and nod toward each other, acknowledging each other's presence. Recca, who never really liked Cruxis, liked Kratos because he had more sense and control over his leader that nobody actually had. But if that was so, then why didn't he tell off Mithos for creating a horrid organization like Cruxis that tortured his fellow race?  
While Recca was thinking, a skeptical female voice remarked among the chatter, saying, "Man, what a prick! Acting all high and mighty, as though he owned the school!"

Recca was curious about who said such a thing and turned around, spotting another petite girl. This one, however, was a bit taller than the other girl who stood up against Yggdrasill and had short, chestnut-colored hair. Her eyes were a lightless, dark brown color, making it look as though she had no soul within her. But her mouth was slanted in a smirk that gave a mischievous look to them, cancelling that effect. Right now, though, Recca was more concentrated on the girl's comment, which made it seem as though she were another new student.

"You're new here, aren't you?" he found himself asking her.

"Hm? Yeah, so?" she replied in a bored tone, shrugging, "Transferred directly from Meltokio Private Academy. But why would you want to know that?"

"Because, "he began to explain, "You're indifferent to Yggdrasill's reign over the school."

"Yggdrasill?" she said in a perplexed tone, "That crude, uptight blonde swine that got showed up by that little gal? What's so great about him?"

"I'd be careful about what you say about him," Recca replied warningly, "He leads the largest, most violent uncontrollable gang in our school: Cruxis. Because of this, he controls the entire school with an iron fist and no one, not even our headmaster, can stop him."

The girl cocked her head at him and said, "Wow, for real? That must suck, but I don't care. I can take care of myself. But hey, has anyone tried stopping him?"

"Well, I try… but not to gain glory or anything, "he answered quietly, thinking about the girl's overconfident demeanor, "And nothing really has come out of my encounters. In a way, I'm more of a rival of his."

"Mmm-hm…" the girl murmured, obviously not interested at this point, "Hey…that reminds me, who're you again? I don't think we've introduce ourselves yet. I'm Aerion. Aerion Ishikawa."

"…me? I'm…Recca Hanabishi," he replied reluctantly as he scratched his head. He didn't like giving his name to others, because either way they would find out within several days because of the rumors of his rivalry with Mithos. This, however, was a different case in his opinion because he felt as though he could trust this girl…which was a first for him.

"So, where's your dorm room?" Aerion asked casually, as though the two of them knew each other for a long time, "I'm in Dorm Hall C."

"Wow, me too…" he responded with surprise, "but that's the only co-ed Dorm Hall out of the three here on campus. Do you…think we share a dorm room?"

"From what I've heard," she began explaining, "There was a rumor circulating that the first floor would be all girls and the second all boys. Except for the last room on the second floor, where it looks like a girl would be stuck with three boys. Otherwise, everything's alright."

"Well, I pity the girl who gets that room, " Recca remarked, "and I hope she's stuck with…civilized men. But anyways, which room are you?"

"Room 106," she answered while shifting, "Do you wanna' go there now? Which one are you in?"

Recca nodded to her suggestion and started to walk in the direction of Dorm Hall C. Aerion followed suit and while they were heading towards the east exit of the school building, he said, "I think I'm in Room…220? Yeah, that should be about right."

"Ah, that's the last room, right? I wonder if you're stuck with that girl then?" she replied thoughtfully.

"I…hope not," Recca replied with apprehension. If that were to happen, Yggdrasill would have something to talk about all year. But in his heart, he felt as though the words that just came out of Aerion's mouth would be the truth.

Recca opened the doors that lead to the luncheon quad, where several upper-class students were hanging out. The day was just perfect; the sky was a deep blue, the sun was shining, it was warm, and the wind was blowing peacefully across the blades of grass of the lawn. Aerion stretched her arms behind her and put her arms back parallel against her sides, grinning widely. She thought cheerfully to herself, _"Perfect weather! Just perfect…"_ She felt herself getting drowsy, but she got excited just thinking about this new school and stayed awake, which was surprising because she hated school.

"Hey," she said while she and Recca were nearing Dorm Hall C, "is this a good school?"

"Well…if you exclude Cruxis…then yes, I'd say it's a pretty charming school, "Recca answered back. When he finished his sentence, they were already at the front door of the Dorm Hall. Recca pushed on the 'In' door and heard the grating roar of chatter greet his ears. Several of the freshmen were already moving all their belongings into their rooms, even though they didn't need to. This was because they would have a boatload of time left when they were finished because dinner wasn't until 7 at night and they would be forced to walk aimlessly around school until that time. This was the first mistake each year most of the freshmen made on their first day, so it was ok and nobody bothered to tell them.

Aerion immediately spotted her luggage and her room along with it, ran up to it and said, "Well, this is my stop! Thanks for leading me here. Let's see each other at dinner, 'k?"

"Um…sure…"he responded, nodding his farewell as he left her to unload her belongings. He turned around and headed to the staircase, having great difficulty going through the bags of luggage strewn across the floor. He reached the staircase, now struggling against the massive crowds of students coming down the steps. Along the way, he caught a small group of sophomores saying, "Yeah, I heard" "About Yuan and Kratos?" "Yup, they're at the last room." "I suppose…"

Recca froze for a moment. Yuan and Kratos?! What if…? He ran the rest of the steps and sprinted down the hallway, almost knocking over every stray piece of luggage aside. Immediately, he spotted his black suitcases at the end of the hall with several others of his roommates that were hopefully not Kratos' or Yuan's. Skidding to a halt at his door, Recca stood up and grabbed his chest and tried to gather his breath as he read the sign on his dorm door. He spotted his name in the middle of the sign, but the two names above it made his heart sink. It was Kratos' and Yuan's name. He groaned loudly, but soon looked at the sign again because there was another name that was below his. However, looking at it made matters worse. His third roommate was Setsuna Ferdinand, a _girl's_ name, and Recca proceeded to whack his head against the door.

"This is going to be a _long_ year, "he though abruptly to himself after he stopped hitting his head against the door. He moped for a while, earning the stares of several students as they glanced at him, before he decided on opening the door. Inside was a blue colored room with one window, a bunk bed against the right wall, a twin-sized bed against the left wall, and a futon in the middle of the floor. There was an extra small hall leading to their private bathroom. Recca, however, immediately saw that they would have problems with this. He knew that the futon would not be very well-liked and they would probably have to compromise with the person who was stuck with it. Recca, though, was not going to be the one sleeping on the futon because he preferred sleeping in a bed than on the floor. He didn't like bunk beds either, though, so he decided to claim the bed against the left wall in the only way he could: by sleeping on it.

Recca walked over to the bed, which had a white pillow and blue covers covering the white lining that was visible from the bottom edge of the bed. He jumped on the bed and laid down immediately, finding out that it was quite comfy. He put his left leg on his upright kneecap and placed his hands casually behind his head, looking straight up at the ceiling. Recca turned his head to see what time it was, seeing it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. He realized that he had plenty of time to spare and decided to use it by taking a nap.

As the sun beat down on his head from the wide window with no curtains to block it, he thought of all the things this year could bring, hoping that all would end well. Then he dozed off from the intoxicating warmth he felt within him, which he really hadn't felt in a while.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Setsuna Melia waited in front of the large tree near the west entrance of the main school building. She was waiting for someone who had promised to show her to Dorm Hall C because, in truth, she had no clue to where it was stationed. She was looking upwards as she waited, admiring the blueness of the sky. She absolutely loved days like these, for they reminded her of the days when she was quite young…but those days were now hazy memories she'd rather not remember and yet ironically _couldn't_ remember.

Returning to the present situation, however, Setsuna couldn't figure out who had offered her to show her around in the first place. The letter that she received along with her schedule from a half-elf boy went along the lines of this:

"Please wait to be shown to your Dorm Hall after the opening ceremony by the tree next to the West Entrance. This is mandatory of you to obey."

At first, it seemed to be a bit fishy to Setsuna, for it seemed as though the hand-written note was scribbled in a rushed manner. Setsuna, however, decided to trust this person because either way, she could defend herself just fine.

She was still quite astonished of her behavior earlier that day though. How could she have been so brazen as to tie up a complete stranger's hair? What had possessed her to try such an act? Whatever the reason, it was too late to take back her actions now. She really wished she could, however, because she felt that she did something absolutely rude to that boy, no matter how rude he was to her. All she did was bump into him! But perhaps she would apologize to the boy later on.

As she was thinking about her plans, a group of half-elves had approached her, all smiling mischievously. There were two girls, one with medium-length, orange hair, the other with short, jet black hair, and three boys, all with scruffy, silver hair. That was five in all, a number that could overpower if it could. One of the boys in the group who was the tallest stepped up to Setsuna and asked, "You're Setsuna Melia, right?"

Setsuna snapped out of her thoughts and replied in a surprised tone, "Y-yes! T-that would be me."

The half-elves smirked at one another slyly. They immediately formed a circle around her that wouldn't allow her to escape, surrounding her like sharks to prey. Setsuna could feel a sense of foreboding and danger in her spine, immediately planting her feet into the hard, autumn ground she was standing on to brace herself for impact. She had also grabbed her schoolbag close to her chest as a shield of protection. The half-elves chuckled to themselves at her actions, inching closer and closer to her to intimidate her and gang up on her. However, from the corner of Setsuna's eye, she could see the orange-haired girl slowing down and wearing an odd look on her face, as if she was beginning to realize something.

However, as they came within several inches of her, she saw them pulling out leather whips from their bags. Setsuna gave an involuntary gulp as she realized that there was no escape…from fighting, that is. She was mentally and physically preparing herself for the beating she was to unleash, for she had the instinct to defend herself at that moment. She wondered, though, how she was going to win against five people with whips.

Before she could throw any punches to the nearest aggressor, however, the orange-haired girl had suddenly shouted, "You can't be…_that_ Setsuna Melia could you?!"

"Uh…which Setsuna Melia were you referring to?"

The orange-haired half-elf had grabbed her bag, wrenched it open, and began to scramble through it. Her acquaintances and Setsuna were looking on at the spectacle with airs of confusion. But then one of the shorter boys of the group snapped out of his confusion and exclaimed, "Man, whatever! Who cares about who she is?! Let's just _get her_!"

At that crucial moment, a familiar voice to Setsuna shouted, "Hey! Leave her be!"

A shadow from the overhead branches of the tree flew down to Setsuna's side, suddenly wrapping their arms around her waist. Upon pulling her close to their chest and by the tone of their voice, Setsuna could immediately tell that this person was a male. The voice, however, was so familiar and yet so unrecognizable that she just had to get a glimpse of this boy. As she looked up, she suddenly gave a gasp of surprise as she immediately recognized the silver-haired, blue-eyed, half-elven youth from her childhood days.

"Damme?!" exclaimed, surprised and excited to see the tall, strapping young man that was grinning at her, "You're here at this academy?!"

"Yesiree, boss lady!" Damme Harrington replied. From what Setsuna could remember about him, he was the heir to one of the top companies that was ran by half-elves, the MagiTech Company. Damme continued his sentence by saying, "But guess what? I'm here to save you in the nick of time from these foolish saps!"

"Oy! Who are you callin' fools?!" the black-haired half-elf girl exclaimed, balling her fists. The rest of the group had done the same and began to close in on the two friends. Before they could actually start attacking, though, Damme skillfully jumped up into the air with Setsuna in his arms back into the tree from which he originally came down from. The half-elves, now obviously irritated with this sudden setback in their pal, began to yell at the two to come down from the tree, while Damme launched into making insulting faces at them. Setsuna could only watch at the display with dismay, face-palming her forehead while shaking her head in disapproval. On the ground, though, the half-elf girl who had recognized her as someone she knew had suddenly remembered who she was, in which she blurted out, "You_ are _her! I recognize your face from the magazine; you're the newly debuted pop idol, Setsuna, right?! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, may I have your autograph?!"

The orange-haired girl then began to search through her bag for something for Setsuna to sign on and with, while her comrades looked on dumbstruck. Setsuna, however, saw this as a chance to avoid a fight and jumped down from tree cautiously, Damme following shortly behind her. Soon as she hit the ground, the girl had wrestled out a pen and blue, disheveled notebook and presented it to Setsuna, asking, "Please sign this. I would appreciate this very much! I've heard you're song once before… 'Happy Heart', right?"

"Yes!" Setsuna replied kindly, grabbing the notebook and pen excitedly from the girl's hands, "I'm glad you like it. I didn't think anyone would!"

Setsuna began to sign the notebook with the pen while saying, "So what's your name?"

"Miu Rauster!" the girl replied enthusiastically, and Setsuna wrote in the notebook:

"_To Miu: _

_Thanks for being one of my first fans! I'm glad you enjoy my music. May the grace of destiny always shine upon you!_

_**~Setsuna Melia**_

"There!" Setsuna exclaimed as she finished off her signature. She handed the notebook and pen back to Miu and the girl squealed in delight and bowed to her, saying in a breathless tone, "Thank you _so_ much! I'll definitely treasure this forever!"

And upon that note, Miu took off, happy as a beaver. However, despite the warm interaction Setsuna had with Miu, her comrades were still determined to get her. They moved into a tight half- circled wall formation behind her, looking quite irritated and moody. One of the shorter males snidely said, "A pop idol, huh?! Well, why don't you sing for us if you are one?!"

Setsuna turned to them in surprise, and said, "Perform? Here?!"

How in the world would she perform here on the school grounds? Would she have to go to the auditorium and perform for them there? She could just _not_ perform, of course, but she had the feeling that if she didn't, someone would end up hurt in the end. Yet how in the world could she sing without a set-up crew?

Damme, however, placed his hand on her shoulder and simple said while grinning, "Well, I guess it's time for me to help you out now, boss lady! I'll do the set-up; you just watch. Now look towards the luncheon quad."

Setsuna gave Damme a look of perplexity; he was going to do _what_? Before she could ask, though, Damme took out a black laptop with a smooth plastic surface from the green school bag he was carrying and booted it up. As soon as the screen loaded, he began to type rapidly and then suddenly, to everyone's amazement, virtual-like objects were appearing out of nowhere on the luncheon quad. These virtual objects began to band together and soon appeared a stage and loud speakers. Setsuna could now sing.

"Wow! Woooow!" Setsuna exclaimed giddily, running across the lawn and climbing onto the stage. The stage was actually stable enough to hold her, to her surprise, and she jumped up and down on the stage to see if this was for real. She didn't fall through the illusion, though, and this made her even more amazed than before. So this is what Damme's family has been developing since she last saw them!

Damme and the group of half-elves followed her after her, with Damme wearing a smirk of satisfaction and the half-elves with expressions of awe and bewilderment. Students around them soon took noticed to the mysterious stage that had appeared on the lawn and congregated around it out of curiosity. The crowd began to chatter quite loudly as they wondered aloud about the purpose of the stage.

This gathering, however, was doing to things to Setsuna: apprehensive and excited. For one, she was only apprehensive because she had some doubts about how this entire performance was to work out. She would have to trust Damme's skill and inventiveness to make this successful. Yet she felt so excited to perform because it had been a while since she last performed for an audience. In truth, she was kind of a shy bird in many social settings, but performing in front of a large crowd was no problem for her. She had no clues as to why that was, but she felt a sort of freedom in performing and satisfying her audience. Hopefully, though, Damme would make sure that the performance was successful.

However, by the way Damme was concentrating on his work, it was certain that the performance wouldn't have any hitches. Setsuna watched him as he computed complex screens of information that showed up as holograms on the stage floor. He was focusing very intently as he typed, while Setsuna was crouched near the edge, waiting for him to finish the final touches and whatnot.

"Setsuna," Damme said after a while, still focused on typing, "please stand up and hold your arms out."

"Um…like this?" Setsuna asked as she did exactly what he asked. He nodded in reply and smiled, saying, "Yes, exactly."

With the push of the "Enter" button, a magic circle appeared under Setsuna's feet and she gave a small gasp of surprise. The white swirling energy from the circle was forming intricate swirl patterns and lashing bands of white light gently at her legs and appeared to be attempting to crawl up them as they got larger and longer. She shot a glance of apprehension at Damme, who was still looking at her with his finger on the Enter key. He nodded to her in reassurance that everything would be alright. All Setsuna needed to do was trust him.

As the white swirling grasping energy crept up her body, Setsuna began to notice that her shoes and stockings were different. They were no longer the standard black, laced-up leather shoes and long, white stockings that was the uniform for the academy; they were now brown Roman-styled sandals with black medium-length, frilly socks. It was then Setsuna realized what the circle was casting. It was a costume-changing spell, like the ones they use recently in concerts for a fast wardrobe change for singers. This spell, however, was very specific in what type of costume Setsuna would wear, for it continued to change her black skort, buttoned-up white shirt, and black silk tie into a beautiful white, sleeveless, frilly Lolita dress complete with a ribbon choker. On her arms appeared white laced gloves and in her hair appeared two white ribbons on each side of her hair, giving her the final look of an elegant lady of sorts. The finished look made Setsuna almost squeal with delight, but she restrained herself from doing so, so that she'd look more professional.

_"With this costume,"_ she thought merrily to herself, _"I can probably get publicity here at school!"_

And upon that note, Setsuna psyched herself up for the performance she was going to give.

Everyone on the luncheon quad had been watching the transformation in amazement, including Yggdrasill. He had just exited the main school building and walked down the sidewalk, flanked by both Kratos and Yuan, and came about the curious sight of an enormous crowd congregating around a very _peculiar _stage. A closer analysis, however, he could see upon the stage that weird chick he confronted earlier who had tied up his hair with a scrunchie. As he recalled the memory, he shuddered a little out of embarrassment and uneasiness, trying to block out the memory of the incident. His two comrades, though, noticed his awkward facial expression and looked at him with concern. Mithos looked to the both of them and made hand motions to signal that he was perfectly fine, holding up the palm of his hand to tell them to stop before they crossed a line they really shouldn't cross at all. The two understood immediately, nodding in reply, although Mithos doubted that their concerns were alleviated.

In any case, Yggdrasill turned back his attention to the girl, who was dressed in all white clothing. The effect of the clothes gave her the air of Meltokio nobility because of her elaborately-made, lace dress and the ribbons she had adorned on her. Yet she also resembled an angel of some sort due to her pure white clothing and what seemed to be a shining demeanor that was exuded about her. Yggdrasill, however, instantly doubted that the girl really was modest and innocent than that of the image she was portraying now, considering the fact that he saw the brash side of her earlier.

Meanwhile, on the stage, Setsuna was straightening herself up, looking out into the crowd to see how many people showed up. It was quite a large turnout; she estimated about sixty students came to see what was up. The sight of them all gave her a bit of a boost of confidence to sing beautifully for them and the bold side of her that she often tried to hide was beginning to show now. What she hoped, though, was that this side would never take over, because she's seen what happens when she becomes very bold, and it's never a pretty sight.

"Hey, Setsuna, catch!" Damme suddenly shouted, throwing something at her.

"Uah!" Setsuna squealed as she moved forward to catch the thrown object. Once she caught it safely in her hands, she realized that what Damme had thrown was a black plastic headset, so that her voice could be amplified over the speakers. She immediately placed it on her head and said into the microphone, "Thanks, Damme-kun!"

"You're welcome!" he replied, giving her a thumbs-up while continuing to type with the other hand, "But hey, what are you planning to sing?"

The question was easy to answer for Setsuna to answer, for she immediately replied with a smile, "Happy Heart!"

Damme flashed a grin at her and said, "You got it!"

He then began to type in codes rapidly for at least two minutes before the Enter button, then said, "Get ready, Setsuna-chan!"

The familiar tune of drums, guitar, and violin began, the upbeat music thumping through the speakers. Setsuna took a deep breath and began to calculate in her mind when she would be entering into the song, swaying back and forth to keep time. Each second brought her closer to her entry point and heart began to also keep time with the music, her swaying now becoming sidesteps going back and forth, side-to-side. Finally, after the last guitar note was strung out, she opened her mouth and from the strength of her stomach came from her throat a clear, high-pitched tone.

"_Days dark as shadowy silhouettes,_

_How come they follow me~?_

_All I wanted to see today,_

_Was the smile upon my own face~._

_But maybe yours will do,_

_Because it really seems more true._

_[Refrain]_

_Maybe I'll find it,_

_Find it here~_

_In this place of no despair~._

_The warmth and light _

_I've been searching for,_

_I know it's there~!_

_In your Happy Heart!_

_What can I say to you?_

_You who may distant from me?_

_Yet maybe you're close~_

_But then what do you see of me?_

_There's more that you will see,_

_When ours will meet~!_

_[Refrain]_

By her second refrain, the crowd was cheering and moving to the beat of the music. They appeared in Setsuna's eyes to be enjoying themselves very much, which meant that her performance was quite successful. From the corner of her right eye, she could see Damme monitoring the show with both his attention on his computer and her. She could see that he was proudly grinning at her, which furthered to boost her spirits. Setsuna felt so peppy now as she sang to the crowd, seeing also that her attackers were enjoying themselves as well. Seeing that made her see that she had a shield of sorts for the next time she would be 'attacked'…if she ever was 'attacked'.

Near the edge of the crowd, though, Yggdrasill was watching Setsuna, breathless at the spectacle he was beholding. He had to admit, her song was quite alright, but her voice was the reason why he was so taken aback by her. It sounded so similar to Martel's voice! He could feel the warmth of his sister that he thought he lost two years ago, but here it was in front of him, reappearing in the form of this girl's voice. Yet he still felt the large gaping hole in his heart as he listened, making him realize that this girl was going to be a liability of sorts. She was dangerous in a way that Mithos couldn't exactly explain to himself…who was this girl anyways? He didn't even know her name…

On the stage, Setsuna was finishing the last refrain of the song, the tempo slowing down bit by bit until the last drum vibration faded. She was breathing quite harshly now, exhausted from singing so enthusiastically. The crowd was enthralled by her performance and cheered like the fans she had been expecting to have.

"Minna-san, arigato gozaimasu~!" Setsuna shouted into the headset into the crowd, smiling and waving with both hands to them. She was delighted at the level of excitement in the crowd, for it meant she did real well with performing.

"Encore! _Encore!_" the students shouted, all riled up for another performance.

Setsuna, however, felt as if she done a good enough job to satisfy the group that confronted her, so she said to the crowd, "Thank you so much for listening! I hope you all will become fans of me, Setsuna Melia! Remember it! Unfortunately…I cannot perform another song because that would be pushing the limits here."

"Quite," Mithos serious voice rang out from the back, just loud enough for everybody to hear. The once frenzied crowd now went dead silent at the sight of Yggdrasill. Several students close to him immediately backed away from him out of fear, while the rest began to clear a pathway to the stage. At the sight of his influence over the students, Yggdrasill smirked and proceeded to walk up to the stage as the crowd continued to disperse away from the stage. His power was mighty indeed.

As the crowd dwindled to a smaller number, Setsuna was preparing to apologize to the boy that she recognized was from the earlier confrontation. She could see that the group that threatened her before was gone, just like the rest of the audience who walked away. She looked over to Damme and gave him a look of grimace, which he took as a command to get rid of everything he put up. Setsuna jumped down from the stage as it began to fade away due to Damme's hasty typing on his laptop. Setsuna's simulated costume was disappearing as well as her regular school uniform was rematerializing on her body. She straightened herself up as she bounded towards the long-haired blonde and his two friends: one with long, cornflower blue-colored hair, the other with messy, spiked-up crimson-colored hair. Both were following the blonde, who was only about an inch taller than him, with very serious expressions. Or perhaps they were both concerned? But if that was the case, then what was to be concerned about? In any case, compared to their leader's eerie calm facial expression that he was wearing in a menacing demeanor, their expressions were not as threatening. The expression he was wearing, in fact, gave the forewarning of a smack down.

Mithos, however, was not the type to do such barbaric tactics and at this point only wanted to get some facts straight with this girl, Setsuna. Once the girl stopped several inches in front of him, he also stopped in place and said coolly, "Setsuna was it? We meet again."

"It seems so," Setsuna replied with the exact coolness, although she had that radiant smile she used in the previous encounter on. Mithos looked irritated to see that smile, but Setsuna ignored his expression and continued with, "And once again…I'm sorry for bumping into you earlier. Though I have to say the way you reacted was quite ludicrous, I was even more unbelievable in my own actions. I hope you'll forgive me for being so…brazen."

She shrugged in embarrassment, suddenly avoiding his eyes for a moment. Within her, she was imagining herself beating herself with a stick as she recalled the burning memory of her tying up his hair. But she shook herself out of those memories and snapped back into reality, where the blonde was staring at her with an odd expression.

"Uh, yes…"Yggdrasill said, trying to regain his demeanor after that odd pause, "but in any case, I would suppose you have no clue who _I _am, you? Well, I suggest you remember it well. I am Mithos Yggdrasill, but you may only call me Yggdrasill."

_"Otherwise I'll give you hell if you do…"_ Yggdrasill thought menacingly to himself, _you filthy maggot."_

"Oh, ok, I see now!" Setsuna exclaimed while clasping her hands together, "Well, it's a pleasure to be finally been properly introduced, Yg…Yggdrasill-san. So who are you're two friends?"

As she referred to the two on Mithos's left and right side, both straightened themselves up. The cornflower blue-colored hair boy introduced himself first, saying, "It's pleasure to meet you, Setsuna. I'm Yuan, the senior class president, and if I'm not wrong, you're the sophomore class vice president, correct?"

"Ah, that's correct!" Setsuna replied with gusto, excited to be remembered. She then turned to Kratos and said to him, "I recognize you from the assembly. You sat next to me, right? You're…Kratos?"

Kratos nodded and remarked, "Yes, that is correct. I am Kratos Aurion, the junior class vice president."

"And I am the junior class _president_," Yggdrasill cut in, his voice proud like a spoiled child.

"And _I'm_ Damme Harrington, "Damme suddenly interrupted, poking his head right over Setsuna's shoulder. Setsuna, surprised by this sudden invasion of space, shrieked loudly, causing the other three to jump back a little as well.

"Whoa, where did you come from Damme?!" Setsuna exclaimed while clutching her heart. Damme was laughing real hard, slapping his knee because he thought that his stunt was so _hilarious_. The ones he frightened, though, thought the opposite of his actions, especially Yggdrasill, who was now seething with silent fury.

"Ah ha ha ha!! Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist!" Damme managed to choke out, seeming apologetic to what he did yet struggling to act like it. He had to lean on Setsuna's shoulder (in which Setsuna was quite uncomfortable with him doing) in order to support himself.

"Damme-kun, don't _do_ that!" Setsuna scolded, thoroughly angry with his ploy, "Gah, I suppose I should tell you who he is. Although it's been a while since we've seen one another, we were very good childhood friends back in the day."

"I see. So you two are like the three of us then," Yuan commented thoughtfully. In truth, he never really met any other tightly-knit group like their own…well, considering that these two haven't seen each other in so long, he'd probably have to wait longer to meet one.

"So you all have been close to each other for a long time, huh?" Damme said as a reply, "That's pretty cool. Not a ton of people stay in contact with each other and stay that way for long…"

Damme's voice faltered as he said that last sentence, his mind filling up with memories. Flashbacks of pain were flooding into him, the image of Setsuna and another dear friend against one another. The dark forest surrounded them, almost screaming out in horror as the wind whistled violently through them, leaves all tossed aflutter. All he could do at that time was watch, due to injuries made by physical impact, yet he still felt that he should have got up and helped instead. He winced as he remembered the sight of the boy next to him who was hit even harder by the impact bleeding to death. The yelling was getting louder, the deafening noises of crashing trees onto the ground as they were being uprooted. That cold feeling…that _horrible_ memory.

Damme shook his head wildly suddenly to snap him out of his intense memory process and found out that he had broken out into a cold sweat. Not only that, though, but his body was shaking a little and his face turned a little pale. Was the memory of that incident _that_ terrifying?

Incidentally, everyone around him was staring at him with concerned looks. Setsuna looked the most concerned for her face was written with worry. She asked him in a mild, cautious tone, "D-Damme-kun? Are you…alright?"

Damme gave a weak smile, scratching his head while saying, "Yeah, don't worry. I'm good, just a little…weird flashback. I doubt you remember, though…."

_"She __**shouldn't**__ remember, truthfully…"_ Damme thought sadly to himself, _"Because it'd __**kill**_her if _she knew what happened. The awful truth about Alessia…"_

"Alright…"Setsuna said skeptically, still quite worried about Damme's being, "if you say so."

Mithos, however, cleared his throat quite loudly to bring back attention to the matters at hand and said, "In any case, I need to instruct you on some things of this school, Setsuna. For the first matter: Do you know what Cruxis is?"

"No…I don't believe I do," Setsuna answered uncomfortably, wondering if she should know about it. Was it important?

"Then that will explain some things. Well, I'll tell you then. Cruxis is an organization I am leader of that, how you say, keeps everybody's toes in line. It is mainly half-elves that join my prestigious organization, with the exception of Kratos here," Yggdrasill explained animatedly, "But because I'm leader of this group, I control…the actions of everyone, I suppose."

"Like a dictator?" Setsuna piped up, seeing that Yggdrasill had powerful dominance yearnings.

"_No_, not like dictator," Yggdrasill snapped, irked by Setsuna's rudeness, "and plus you interrupted me. I _hate _that. So I suggest you figure out what I like and don't like and never get on my bad side…lest you face my wrath."

"Uh, of course!" Setsuna replied with a nervous smile. Was that all she had to do? Piece of cake! …yet still, her view of Yggdrasill now was much like a dominatrix, just without the sex part. After the explanation she was given, she also deemed Yggdrasill and his organization a dangerous threat and suddenly realized that the group from earlier were probably from his organization. She began to wonder, however, how much control he actually had over his organization because it seemed like he didn't know that the group from before carried out an attack on her…or at least, that's what it seemed like to Setsuna. She really had to figure out what kind of person Yggdrasill was in order to understand how she could avoid all trouble as possible. But would that really be possible?

"I'm glad you understand everything now, but I suggest you stay out of my way from now on," Yggdrasill commanded, "and I implore you to head to your Dorm Hall right now."

"But…but I have no idea where it is!" Setsuna wailed in exasperation, throwing her fists down in frustration. How could she have forgotten about the fact that she still had no idea where her dorm hall was? …well, because of all the incidents, she _did_ kind of forget, but right now she needed to unpack her belongings before dinner.

"…which Dorm Hall are you to reside in?" Kratos asked, trying to be polite and help her.

"Dorm Hall C," Setsuna replied, hoping that someone in this group would be able to help her.

"Ah, we're in that hall, too," Yuan said with a smile, "Me and Kratos, that is. Want us to take you there, Melia-chan?"

"That would be wonderful!" Setsuna exclaimed while grabbing Yuan's hands in gratitude, "I would be _so grateful_ if you did! Hey, Damme-kun, want to come with us?"

"Err, sorry," Damme replied apologetically, "but I have to go and find my dorm hall as well, Dorm Hall A."

"Perfect. Then you'll be coming along with me," Yggdrasill drawled while placing his hand on Damme's shoulder and dragging him away, "We need to…_talk._"

"Huh? What'd I do?!" Damme shouted in surprise, trying to fight against Yggdrasill grasp on his shoulder. But, alas, Yggdrasill's grip was too tight on Damme's shoulder, so much that it hurt if he tried to struggle. After progressing five feet while being pulled, Damme gave up and relaxed his body so the pain would go away. Mithos suddenly stopped, though, as soon as he stopped struggling, turning his neck a bit towards Kratos and Yuan.

"I expect to see you at dinner, Kratos, Yuan…" he commanded in a serious tone, "understood?"

"Understood," they both said simultaneously in return, standing up straight and bowing their heads a little out of respect. Mithos gave a nod of approval and continued to walk away with Damme in tow, not giving any sort of farewell to Setsuna. Not that it bothered her much. Damme, however, had the courtesy to bid her _adieu_.

"S-see you at dinner, Setsuna-chan!" Damme said in exertion, "You, too, Kratos and Yuan! Take care of her, alright!"

"Damme! _Can it!_" Setsuna yelled in an urgent voice, sounding a little nervous, "Don't say things that could get you pounded later on!"

"Ha ha! Don't worry about it!" Damme shouted back with a little laugh, "By the way, you did well earlier! Keep it up, ok?!"

Setsuna gave a smile to him and waved to him. "Don't worry, I can handle it!"

Damme gave returned her smile with his own before facing the direction in which Dorm Hall A was. Today was quite an exciting turnout, but there were still more hours in the day to go. He was excited to see what event would happen next in this story of his life. Whatever it was, he'd go into head first without a second thought, just like he always did…and always will.

Meanwhile, with Setsuna, Kratos, and Yuan, all were picking up their bags that they had placed on the ground beside them while they were conversing before they headed to Dorm Hall C. Setsuna was very glad that she didn't have to worry about going to Dorm Hall C alone. In fact, without the help, she could have ended up in some random crevice on the gigantic school grounds!

"So where exactly is it?" Setsuna asked, still clutching one of Yuan's hands for some reason, "Lead the way."

"Uh, how about you let go of my hand first?" Yuan said in a low tone, trying to loosen her grip on his hand, but she wasn't letting go for some strange reason.

"Um…how about I _not_ do that and we just proceed?" Setsuna tried suggesting in an awkward tone, hoping he wouldn't go further into the details and just agree. Unfortunately for her, he didn't.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Yuan asked her in a suspicious tone, wondering what Setsuna was trying to hide from them.

Kratos, however, immediately saw that the way Setsuna was acting only led to one obvious conclusion. "Setsuna, you're scatterbrained, aren't you?"

"W-w-what?!" Setsuna yelped, taking offense to the statement, "What in the world are you trying to say about me?!"

"That you get lost easily, don't you?" Kratos continued, "You're the type to get sidetracked and end up in some area you never intended to go to."

Setsuna's heart sank; he hit the bull's-eye. The embarrassing truth of it all was that she _was _scatterbrained when it came to maps or traveling in general. Although it wasn't shameful as some other tendencies, she felt that her lack in sense of direction was her biggest Achilles' heel. Because of this weakness of sorts, she would often be placed in many awkward or terrifying situations that made her shudder violently whenever her thoughts pondered them. For that reason, she always tried to keep this a secret from everyone she knew, and therefore shook her head 'no' to Kratos's interrogation-like questions.

Kratos, however, immediately doubted that she was telling the truth and knew it because of the way she reacted when he questioned her. Setsuna was jumpy and nervous enough to give away that oblivious fact. Knowing that it would be rude to press her on the subject, though, he did not do so, thinking it would be superfluous to keep getting the truth out of her. Instead, he said, "In any case, let's get going."

"A-ah, yes!" Setsuna stuttered, clutching onto Yuan's hand in one hand, her school bag in the other, "Let us proceed!"

On that note, Yuan, who was wearing a sort of strangled expression on his face at the fact that he was holding the hand of someone other than Martel's, and Kratos, who wore an expression of soft concentration, walked towards the northeast direction of the Academy, with Setsuna being led with Yuan's 'guidance' right behind them. In the distance, they could see a paisley yellow building looming overhead. The building seemed to be larger than the two on the adjacent side, but slightly smaller than the main school building. Setsuna spotted a humble little building south of what appeared to be Dorm Hall C, in which by the look of the remote, traditional Asian architecture of the structure made it seem to be a dojo of some sort. Setsuna did recall that one of her martial arts classes would be held in a dojo…

But casting aside those thoughts about the dojo, Setsuna focused herself on getting to the Dorm Hall. She could see as they neared it that students were constantly going in and out of the doors, all chattering excitedly about the new school year. The buzz of the chatter suddenly boosted Setsuna's mood for some odd reason and she felt excited about the new school year as well.

As they had reached the doors of Dorm Hall C, Setsuna looked up at the humongous structure of bumpy plaster with vines growing up the sides. She felt so small standing in front of the building, but yet she felt at home by just looking at it. Though she felt that a better color was needed for the building, she couldn't help but think of what was to come in her new living arrangements.

By this time she had let go of Yuan's hand absentmindedly, and a grateful Yuan rubbed his hands together to get some feeling back into them. Kratos was just standing next to Setsuna, looking at her with wonder because she was just standing there in a daze. He wondered to himself about what was going through her mind right now, yet he immediately stopped himself after two minutes because he knew it would be pointless to waste his time on such thoughts.

Setsuna, however, was thinking about what kind of fun things she would experience in this Academy. "Dorm Hall C, eh…? I wonder what kind of new life I'll be living while I'm here?"

Suddenly, Kratos cleared his throat and Setsuna jumped back into reality. She looked to Kratos, who was looking impatient while Yuan had a sympathetic expression for her on his face.

"…shall we go _in_?" Kratos suggested in an annoyed tone.

"Of course! Sorry about that, Aurion-senpai!" Setsuna apologized, half-apologetic, half-giddy. She walked with the two into the crowd that was proceeding into the building and enter its doors, unknown about what fate they would have in the coming year.

8


End file.
